Showdown at Gucci Gulch
Most everyone agrees that the U.S. tax code is ridiculously complex.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
- Author: Jeffrey Birnbaum and Alan Murray
- Publisher: Knopf Doubleday, 336 pages
Most everyone agrees that the U.S. tax code is ridiculously complex. Presidential candidates from both parties have promised simplification. So why is this so difficult? This chronicle of the last major effort to revamp the tax code provides plenty of clues. Despite opposition from an army of high-priced lobbyists, The Tax Reform Act of 1986 ultimately prevailed, closing loopholes and lowering tax rates (31 years later, the tax code is riddled with complexity once again). Birnbaum and Murray, both reporters for the Wall Street Journal when they wrote this book, provide a detailed account of the wheeling and dealing that made tax reform a reality back then. Showdown at Gucci Gulch is one of the rare nonfiction books that manages to build suspense even when you know how it’s going to end. Could tax reform happen again? After re-reading this book, my takeaway was: don’t hold your breath.
Visit the Kiplinger Bookshelf
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
-
How to Turn Your 401(k) Into A Real Estate EmpireTapping your 401(k) to purchase investment properties is risky, but it could deliver valuable rental income in your golden years.
-
My First $1 Million: Retired Nuclear Plant Supervisor, 68Ever wonder how someone who's made a million dollars or more did it? Kiplinger's My First $1 Million series uncovers the answers.
-
How to Position Investments to Minimize Taxes for Your HeirsTo minimize your heirs' tax burden, focus on aligning your investment account types and assets with your estate plan, and pay attention to the impact of RMDs.
